“In war, there are no unscathed soldiers” (José Narosky). Narosky addresses an important consequence of the war which is mentioned in the novel The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. The story takes place during the Second World War in an abandoned Italian villa inhabited by only four characters of different nationalities, two Canadians, an Indian and a Hungarian. These characters get to know each other, ultimately leading them to discover themselves and reveal the problems the war has caused them. The dehumanizing effects of war, in Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient, reveals uncomfortable and disturbing truths about how Hana, Kip, and Caravaggio perceive the world around them and themselves. The events of the war created dehumanizing effects on Hana, forcing her to radically change mentally and physically to become a new person; who is withdrawn from the world. Working as a nurse during World War II exposed Hana to unforgiving situations. She had experienced death every day, including the deaths of those close to her. These harsh experiences lead Hana to detach herself from the world around her. This is demonstrated when Hana cut her hair because she was disgusted by the fact that it had fallen into a pool of a patient's blood the day before. The removal of her hair is described thus: "When she woke up, she took a pair of scissors from the porcelain bowl, bent down and began to cut her hair, not caring about the shape and length, simply cutting them” (49). This represents both Hana's physical and symbolic changes. By removing her long hair, it changed the way Hana was perceived by the world. She no longer had her long, beautiful hair; instead, she then had short, uneven hair. In our world today, we see people with coarse haircuts that match the way they perceive the world and themselves. Hana's experiences as a nurse who constantly saw death transformed her from an innocent young woman into a damaged, desperate, and detached woman. Kip's experiences as an Indian in a white man's world transformed his views of the white race as well as his own, forcing him to leave his loved ones behind. He went from working and trusting Europeans to hating them so much that he leaves Hana, the love of his life, behind. Caravaggio's experiences the night he was captured by the Germans transformed him from a charismatic, confident thief into a trustless coward. Overall, the war has serious consequences for all those affiliated with it. “War does not determine who is right – only who is on the left” (Bertrand Russell). Works Cited Ondaatje, Michael. The English patient. Toronto: Vintage Canada, 1993. Print.